In-person workout classes are making a comeback, and Arlington—which in July was named “America’s Fittest City” for the fifth consecutive year—is ready to sweat it out.
The pandemic shuttered 30% of fitness studios nationwide, according to IHRSA, the Global Health and Fitness Association, and prompted 80% of customers to take virtual classes. Now the latter trend is reversing, per research from Mindbody, a tech platform for the industry. This year, more than 80% of reservations through Mindbody’s ClassPass app were for in-person classes.
Looking to switch up or enhance your weekly workout routine? These new, reopened or soon-to-open gyms are ready to welcome exercisers. Although each has its own spin, all six are dedicated to cultivating a sense of community and providing an accessible, one-stop shop for fitness. Here’s what you can expect:
FitDistrict
Opening date: August 2022
FitDistrict founder Catherine Ford will bring three modalities under one roof: yoga, interval training and cycling. “They are all foundational to fitness. They’re not a fad; yoga has been around forever,” Ford says. “In our interval studio, it’s about 25 minutes of cardio and about 25 minutes of strength training. Those are staples.”
Classes in the 7,500-square-foot facility can accommodate up to 30 participants, who can expect a “sweat fest” and then replenish their electrolytes with smoothies, juices and grab-and-go foods from the onsite Energy Cafe.
“What’s super special about FitDistrict is the opportunity to co-create a beautiful community and culture of belonging, of empowerment no matter what. No matter where you come from, what you look like, who you love, who you worship,” Ford says. “That’s super important to me—building a community around belonging.” //2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Court House)
Barry’s
Opening date: January 2020
Barry’s first opened in January 2020 and closed two months later, a casualty of the pandemic. It reopened in October 2021 and has been slowly adding classes as demand rebuilds.
“When we closed our doors, we always [intended] to open back up,” says Quintin Fortes, a founding instructor at the Dupont Circle location who also teaches in Arlington. “Two and a half years later, we’re back open to the public and trying to build that community back up.”
Available again is the 1,786-square-foot Red Room, stocked with treadmills, step class-style “benches,” dumbbells and resistance bands. Each 50-minute class is like a two-fer, Fortes says. Participants do 10-minute rounds, switching from cardio to conditioning.
“You’re getting the best of both worlds,” he says.
For a post-workout quencher, stop by the studio’s Fuel Bar, which blends $9 and $11 smoothies with fun names like Superfood Flex and Lemonade Lipo. //2825 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Clarendon)
VIDA Fitness Ballston
Opening date: July 2020
VIDA Ballston opened in July 2020 with a three-story, 30,000-square-foot space that houses cycling, yoga and group fitness classes, plus a VIDA exclusive called Sweat Box—60- to 75-minute workout sessions that rotate through four types conditioning and hit all muscle groups.
Two features make this spot different from VIDA’s five other area locations: It has the largest Pilates studio and the most Olympic lifting platforms, according to Aaron Moore, director of operations.
“Olympic lifting is really popular in Northern Virginia, so that location has by far the most Olympic lifting platforms, where people can lift heavy and drop weights from overhead,” Moore says.
Patrons can take advantage of the on-site Aura spa and Fuel Bar. The gym employs board-certified, registered dieticians who offer nutritional counseling that can be billed to insurance, Moore adds. “We really do view ourselves as a wellness facility.” //4040 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Ballston)
E60 Fitness
Opening date: October 2020
E60 opened in Rosslyn before the pandemic and proved so popular that the company launched a sister site in Alexandria. Both locations offer 60-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes designed to improve strength and health, explains owner and operator Curtis Masiello.
“We focus on strength training and we do it in a way that is accessible and challenging for all fitness levels,” Masiello says. “We’re the only group fitness class outside of CrossFit that uses full-size barbells.”
New this fall to the four or five stations (which participants move through every seven minutes) will be so-called “landmines.” They are “essentially something that affixes one end of the barbell to the floor,” Masiello says. “You can put weight on the other end [and] you can do a lot of different movements with that. It really increases the range of exercises that we provide.” //1524 Clarendon Blvd. (Rosslyn) and 3464 Berkeley St., Alexandria (near Shirlington/Fairlington)
Hustle
Opening date: First quarter of 2023
When gyms cleared out during Covid, former Soul Cycle instructor Sunny Miller kept people moving. She started offering online HIIT classes, followed by outdoor cycling classes at The Wharf, and then indoor HIIT and cycling at Union Stage. But the roaming stops next year, when her 5,500-square-foot space opens at Amazon’s HQ2 in National Landing.
Hustle will house a cycling studio and a HIIT studio, providing cardio and strength training in one place, Miller says. She plans to continue streaming the 45- to 60-minute classes for anyone who’d rather take them virtually.
“The idea with Hustle is to get your workout in however you want,” she says.
Want a preview of what’s to come? Through Labor Day, try a Saturday cycling class in the parking lot behind the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2611 S. Clark St.), or a HIIT class Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at Long Bridge Park (475 Long Bridge Drive). //1450 South Eads St. Arlington (National Landing)
Life Time
Opening date: First half of 2023
Life Time, which has fitness clubs nationwide, is preparing to unveil a three-floor, 80,000-square-foot facility at The Crossing Clarendon with all the workout staples the powerhouse brand is known for: cardio and weight lifting areas and group fitness rooms.
It will also include a few new features, such as Signature Group Training, with classes capped at 20 participants (other classes fit 40 to 70), and the area’s first Life Time Work, a separate 25,000-square-foot co-working space.
The main level will house the full-service LifeCafe and LifeSpa, with hair, nail and massage services. Child care will be available on site, and those with tots in town can expect more than babysitting. Guardians can enroll toddlers in dance or gymnastics classes, and 1- to 11-year-olds can participate in STEAM activities.
“Everything you need, you will be able to find it there,” says Natalie Bushaw, Life Time vice president of communications. “Our members tell us we’re more like an athletic country club than a gym.” //1440 N. Edgewood St., Arlington (Clarendon)